Dorian Wars of Conquest
The Dorian Wars of Conquest were a series of wars fought throughout the south of Alarea by the state of Dorio. The wars were fought in various phases, but all of them fell in the period from 0 DR to 22 DR. Bicana (0 – 1) (By the Fieldman estimate: 0 – 3) The "Dorian Reign" formally began with the Dorian invasion of Bicana in the summer of 0 DR. The conquest went quickly; Bicanal Grand Duke Hagathio VIII was still new to ruling and reluctant to engage in open warfare, while the Dorian army's morale was high and its numbers at their peak. Talbot Belthion, the Dorian king and commander-in-chief, took a direct route towards Arphisport; a smaller contingent of the army, led by Anselm Senger, conquered other castles in other regions of Bicana. Hagathio VIII fared poorly in the siege of Arphisport, and in 1 DR, Arphisport surrendered and Bicana was formally annexed. The governorate of Bicana was given to Albus Canting. Kenkor (1 – 5) (By the Fieldman estimate: 3 – 7) Intending to subvert growing anxiety among the Legunar people, Talbot next moved his army into the Isthmus of Kenkor. The Isthmus had fallen into political disarray after the collapse of Yasmaria 250 years prior, but the limited nature of the infrastructure made it difficult for the traditionalist Dorian army to compete against the Kenkorii. Using guerrilla tactics and little affected by formal land loss, the Kenkorii managed to successfully harangue the Dorians for a while. In the summer of 4, local chieftain Quixac Metlika emerged as a leader of a unified Kenkori army; although this was expected to complete the Kenkori victory, it was more likely to have sealed its fate. Talbot had been adapting to the Kenkori tactics, and Quixac was consolidating the Kenkori forces into a format that the Dorians were more familiar with. By the spring of 5, the Kenkorii had mostly been routed, although it took a number of weeks to make a formal annexation recognized by the Kenkori populace. The governorate of Kenkor was given to Helman Halleran, who abdicated in favor of his son Garrett. Leguna (5 – 8) (By the Fieldman estimate: 7 – 11) With Kenkor finally annexed, Talbot next traveled to Leguna. However, Legunar king Rupert V was well prepared for a Dorian invasion, and so he was able to hold his borders for a while via the Battle of Swamphill. This forced Talbot to double back and take a more treacherous route through the southernmost stretch of border territory, and Rupert capitalized on this opportunity to win several major victories in the Legunar swamps. However, Rupert's most successful strategy was in preventing communications between Talbot's army and Dorio itself. By 7, many Dorian nobles became convinced that the silence meant Talbot had died in battle, and the Mourners' Rebellion began in Cantingvale. This was a fairly small-scale uprising; Anselm Senger declared himself the king of Dorio, and began ruling the home front, but there was no action against opposing parties. In 8, Talbot managed to break the communications blockade and get word back to Cantingvale. Upon hearing the news, Anselm stepped down from his kingship, but his reputation was still severely damaged by his association with the Rebellion. Later that same year, Talbot would win the Battle of Kalian and make Leguna the next province to be formally annexed. The governorate of Leguna was given to Julian Cabalon. Tristania (12 – 18) After the near-loss of the growing empire during the Legunar campaign, Talbot called a temporary halt to his wars, and his army paused to recuperate in the period of 8 – 12 (11 – 12 by Fieldman). However, he was forced to mobilize again when Tristanian forces under Oberbaron Sebastian IX began attacking the Tristania/Leguna border in 12 DR. Talbot adopted a similar strategy as in Bicana— i.e., he would lead a direct march towards the capital, while an auxiliary army would take out important targets elsewhere in the nation. By the end of 12, the Tristanian border raids had been pushed back and the Dorian armies had moved the front into Tristania itself. Talbot aimed his army to Alandis via Caniria, while a second army under Walter Hethmont was sent to take Petronalia and Paran. In 13, Petronalia fell, but the course of the war was changed when Talbot died during the Battle of Caniria in 14. Talbot II , a much less capable commander, took the throne of Dorio. Although Talbot I's circle of generals held their positions as advisors, there was still a noticeable weakening of the Dorian army, and Hethmont's contingent was even driven back from Petronalia entirely. In 15, a sizable part of the main Dorian army split off under Garrett Cabalon to capture Paran, and eastward progress was slow. However, by 18 Talbot II's army had reached Alandis all the same, and Petronalia was recaptured by the ancillary forces. The Battle of Alandis that year was adeptly fought by the Dorians, and the recalcitrant state of Tristania was finally brought under the Dorian yoke. The governorate of Tristania was given to Benedict Desman, a controversial appointment owing to Desman's relative youth. Valatsa (20 – 22) After the conquest of Tristania, there was another break in the warring, this time for two years. Talbot II's next move became to try to subdue Robaria, in an abortive campaign that was called off after the king took a serious wound in the Battle of Vasarign. Talbot II redirected his army toward Valatsa instead, but his injury worsened and he died that winter. Again there was an awkward succession, as the throne passed to the nine-year-old Edric I. However, Edric was precocious and adamantly pro-war, so he was able to rally the Dorians to continue their fight. (The original council of generals reprised their role as advisors for Edric.) Tristanian conscripts were brought in to supplement the decreased Dorian army, although the army was still not functioning at peak capacity— however, corruption and inefficiency in the Valat aristocracy caused the Dorians to make several crucial victories in the first months of combat. This snowballed, and the Battle of Stagrang took place as early as Metigrans 22. In this battle, Valatsa fell to Dorio, and an end to the decades-long war was finally declared. The governorate of Valatsa was granted to Armand Rives. Category:Wars